THE family of an 11-year-old boy struck down with salmonella claimed today he had picked up the deadly bug at a restaurant later shut by health inspectors.

THE family of an 11-year-old boy struck down with salmonella claimed today he had picked up the deadly bug at a restaurant later shut by health inspectors.

Jasbina Hussain, of Oldbury, claims she was also ill after eating at the Lahore Kebab House and Restaurant, Ladypool Road, Balsall Heath, which was closed by Birmingham City Council last week after nearly a dozen customers were struck down with salmonella.

City health inspectors said the outbreak had been caused by poor cleaning, cross-contamination and unsafe practices.

The restaurant has reopened after being given the all clear by environmental health officers.

Jasbina, aged 34, told today how her 11-year-old disabled son Junaid, who has Down's Syndrome, has spent the last two weeks in Heartlands Hospital because of the bug.

The sales assistant, who lives with husband Aslam, Junaid and their three other sons, said she bought a takeaway from the restaurant on June 30. It was the last place she and Junaid ate before they became ill.

Junaid, a pupil at Mayfield Special School, Handsworth, and she started to suffer from sickness, diarrhoea and fever within a day of eating the food.

The boy's condition worsened and he was admitted to Birmingham Children's Hospital, then transferred to Heartlands Hospital and diagnosed with salmonella poisoning.

Jasbina said: "I could not believe it when I heard about the restaurant. We go there practically every other month and I didn't think things like this actually happened. I always thought it was really clean.

"I am so angry. My son has been really ill, it has been frightening watching him like this.

"I have had to have two weeks off work to sleep at the hospital with Junaid, and my husband has had two weeks off to look after our other children.

"We are now losing money and we have mouths to feed and a mortgage and bills to pay."

A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said that Trading Standards had been informed about salmonella sufferers by their GPs.

"We can confirm that a Hygiene Emergency Notice was served on the Lahore Kebab house, 202 -208 Ladypool Road, on Thursday evening requiring the establishment to cease trading.

"The premises are implicated in an outbreak of food poisoning associated with poor cleaning, cross contamination and unsafe practices. This follows 11 confirmed reports of salmonella poisoning among customers."

Restaurant owner Raja Javed Iqbal was not available for comment today.